I expected a good turnout at Santa Ana Council Member Michele Martinez’ fundraising event tonight, which was hosted at the home of Council Member Vince Sarmiento and his wife Eva. And sure enough, the place was packed – but that was not the entire story.
For one thing, a lot of Republicans were there tonight, including past CRP Vice Chair Mario Rodriguez, who was a high-ranking official in Governor Schwarzenegger’s administration; Break Mayor Ron Garcia, who works with Martinez in NALEO (the National Association of Latino Elected Officials); MWD Trustee Brett Barbre; developer and consultant Steve Sheldon; and Santa Ana Council Member Carlos Bustamante.
But the real big news was the presence of some major players in the Vietnamese community, including Westminster Council Member Tyler Diep; Westminster School Board Trustee Andrew Nguyen; Santa Ana Parks and Rec Commissioner Ken Nguyen.
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And I thought I was in love with Martinez. You must really, really, really love Martinez.
Admin, when you throw a party for her, Lighten Up. Give her some space. Don’t corner her and talk about politics. They hate that. BORING.
I’m surprised and pleased to see Carlos Bustante is supporting Martinez! The Orange County GOP needs more Republicans like Carlos, willing to reach across the aisle, if they are going to bring more Latinos into the party. When is Carlos going to have a fund raising event for his S.A. Council re-election? I can’t imagine anyone could beat him. How about a profile on that race Mr. Admin?
Isn’t carlos going through some kind of sex scandal?
Isn’t Tyler Diep the City Councilman who tried to use his position in City Council to try to intimidate the police not to investigate the Citryst restaurant, only to get caught on tape? And he is not even in the district! Neither is Andrew Nguyen! Carlos lost his job in a sex scandal. Really, these are the movers and shakers?
You really think the voters remember any of that, assuming it is even true? Of course not. As for not being in the district, perhaps you don’t realize how many Viet voters are on the west side. They know and trust Tyler and Andrew.
Carlos is damaged but he does indicate bipartisan support. In an open primary that matters.
“If it is true . . . ” seriously – the tape is posted online – listen for yourself. You are making a huge assumption that vietnamese voters in Santa Ana will have allegiance or trust to Andrew or Tyler simply because they are vietnamese. The community is much more sophisticated than that analysis implies. I think Michele’s problem is that Jose is NOT just supporting her, he is also supporting Tom, who this site is certainly no friend of. Also, it seems most of her supporters are people she appointed, approved city contracts for, or are part of the Santa Ana City Council, who always support each other. Also, Republicans will not vote for Michele in the primary. Aint gonna happen. You can dream, though.
So can you pal. I have seen plenty of Perez types trot through town over the years. They always lose. As for Daly, he is going to get the Umberg treatment. He too is done.